Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling says he 's sorry but feels he was `` baited '' to make racist comments , nearly two weeks after the NBA fined him and banned him for life for his remarks in a recorded conversation .

`` When I listen to that tape , I do n't even know how I can say words like that . ... I do n't know why the girl had me say those things , '' he told CNN 's Anderson Cooper in an exclusive interview set to air on Monday .

`` You 're saying you were set up ? '' Cooper asked .

`` Well yes , I was baited , '' Sterling said . `` I mean , that 's not the way I talk . I do n't talk about people for one thing , ever . I talk about ideas and other things . I do n't talk about people . ''

Sterling , an 80-year-old married lawyer and billionaire real-estate investor , has n't spoken publicly about the accusations since celebrity gossip website TMZ posted a 10-minute audio recording of him that drew widespread condemnation from fans , players and the league .

In that audio clip , Sterling chastised friend V. Stiviano for posting pictures online of her posing with African-Americans , including basketball Hall of Famer Earvin `` Magic '' Johnson .

The recording triggered a firestorm that led to Sterling 's lifetime ban from the NBA and a $ 2.5 million fine . NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has asked the other 29 owners to force Sterling , the longest-tenured owner in the league , to sell the Clippers .

`` I 'm not a racist , '' Sterling told Cooper . `` I made a terrible , terrible mistake . And I 'm here with you today to apologize and to ask for forgiveness for all the people that I 've hurt . ''

Asked by Cooper why he took so long to say he 's sorry , Sterling said he was `` emotionally distraught . ''

`` The reason it 's hard for me , very hard for me , is that I 'm wrong . I caused the problem . I do n't know how to correct it , '' he said .

Sterling said he does n't want his comments to eclipse his lengthy tenure with the NBA .

`` I 'm a good member who made a mistake and I 'm apologizing and I 'm asking for forgiveness , '' he said . `` Am I entitled to one mistake , am I after 35 years ? I mean , I love my league , I love my partners . Am I entitled to one mistake ? It 's a terrible mistake , and I 'll never do it again . ''

Now , Sterling said , his fate is in the league 's hands .

`` If the owners feel I have another chance , then they 'll give it to me , '' he said .

' I thought she liked me '

Last week , another audio recording surfaced online , allegedly showing Sterling trying to add context to the racist comments that got him banned from the league .

In that recording , Sterling purportedly explained that his comments were driven by jealousy .

`` The girl is black . I like her . I 'm jealous that she 's with other black guys . I want her . So what the hell , can I in private tell her , you know , ' I do n't want you to be with anybody ' ? '' the man purported to be Sterling said in that recording , according to RadarOnline .

On Sunday , Sterling told CNN that in the recording `` I spoke to a girl that I was fond of . ''

Stiviano told ABC News earlier this month that the recorded conversation was similar to many she 's had with Sterling about race .

`` There 's been a number of occasions where Mr. Sterling and I had conversations just like this one , '' she said . `` Part of what the world heard was only 15 minutes . There 's a number of other hours that the world does n't know . ''

Sterling told CNN he 's not sure who released the recording .

`` I do n't know . An 80-year-old man is kind of foolish , and I 'm kind of foolish . I thought she liked me and really cared for me , '' he said . `` I guess being 51 years older than her , I was deluding myself . ... I just wish I could ask her why , and if she was just setting me up . ''

Sterling says he 's spoken with Magic Johnson

Referring to Johnson , Sterling purportedly said on the recording : `` Admire him , bring him here , feed him , f**k him , but do n't put -LRB- Magic -RRB- on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me . And do n't bring him to my games . ''

As criticism over the recording spread , Johnson was among the first to say that Sterling should be forced to sell the team .

`` He should n't own a team any more . And he should stand up and say , ' I do n't want to own a team any more , ' '' Johnson said in an ABC pregame show interview last month .

Sterling told CNN he 's spoken twice with Johnson .

`` Did you apologize to him ? '' Cooper asked .

`` If I said anything wrong , I 'm sorry , '' Sterling said . `` He 's a good person . I mean , what am I going to say ? Has he done everything he can do to help minorities ? I do n't think so . But I 'll say it , he 's great . But I do n't think he 's a good example for the children of Los Angeles . ''

Will owners force sale ?

The matter of the team 's sale is with the NBA 's Advisory/Finance Committee , which met Wednesday in a conference call . Members discussed the `` termination of Mr. Sterling 's ownership of the team , '' the NBA said in a news release . The committee will meet again next week , the statement said .

NBA 's strategy to force a sale hinges on 1981 document

If the case proceeds to a full vote , 75 % of the owners would have to approve the forced sale .

However , an attorney for Donald Sterling 's estranged wife , Shelly , told CNN Friday that she wants to keep her 50 % stake in the team .

`` She wants to remain a passive owner , '' said attorney Pierce O'Donnell . `` She 's not going to want to manage the team . She 's going to want a very skilled , professional , well-heeled new owner to come in and replace Donald , '' O'Donnell said . `` She only wants to own the team in her lifetime . She 's 79 years old . At this point , she 's earned it . She 's been an owner for 33 years , and she 's an avid fan . ''

In an interview with ABC News on Sunday , Shelly Sterling said she was prepared to fight any attempt by the NBA to take away her stake in the team .

`` I will fight that decision , '' she told ABC 's Barbara Walters . `` To be honest with you , I 'm wondering if a wife of one of the owners , and there 's 30 owners , did something like that , said those racial slurs , would they oust the husband ? Or would they leave the husband in ? ''

NBA spokesman Mark Bass said in a statement after the ABC interview aired that what happens if the owners vote for a forced sale is already spelled out in the NBA Constitution .

`` Under the NBA Constitution , if a controlling owner 's interest is terminated by a 3/4 vote , all other team owners ' interests are automatically terminated as well . It does n't matter whether the owners are related as is the case here , '' he said . `` These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team . ''

Sterling vs. the NBA : Who has the edge ?

Sterling purportedly says jealousy behind racist comments

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The NBA says all owners ' interests in the team could be terminated

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Donald Sterling tells Anderson Cooper , `` I was baited . ... That 's not the way I talk ''

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`` I 'm not a racist . I made a terrible , terrible mistake , '' he says

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`` If the owners feel I have another chance , then they 'll give it to me , '' he says